A famous person I admire

Jamaican Usain Bolt is an Olympic legend who has been called “the fastest man alive” for smashing world records and winning 9 gold medals as a reigning champion at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Games. Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Trelawny, Jamaica, and grew up with parents Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt, his brother Sadiki, and his sister, Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother, later saying, "When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports".

In his personal life, Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. His first name is pronounced YOO-sane. He has the nickname "Lightning Bolt" due to his name and speed. He is also an avid fan of the Call of Duty video game series, saying "I stay up late playing the game all the time, I can't help it". What makes him special? Bolt's personal best of 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres is the fastest ever run. Bolt also holds the second fastest time of 9.63 seconds, the current Olympic record. The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to run, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career.  

One of the many reasons why I admire him is that he stays motivated throughout his life. For example, an injury to Bolt's hamstring in March 2014 caused him to miss nine weeks of training. Upon his return from injury, Bolt appeared a reduced figure at the start of the 2015 season. However, more recently at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bolt won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.81 seconds. With this win, Bolt became the first athlete to win the event three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt followed up his 100 m win with a gold medal in the 200 m, which also makes him the first athlete to win the 200 m three times at the Olympic Games.

Whenever a problem shows up, he has managed to get past it all with a smile on his face. He has inspired me to take part in marathons and races which helped me discover my potential in long-distance running. Many people all over the world has made him their role model. His undying spirit also makes many people love him very much. He shows me that it is possible to get through even the toughest situations. In my opinion, it is better to not admire someone’s popularity, but someone’s professionalism. 

Transition words: Interesting facts about the Romans

For centuries, Rome ruled the world. That being the case, the ultimate superpower, the Roman Empire united the world in ways never seen before or since. However, while we know about the excessive lives led by its upper class and its rulers, the nuances of day-to-day life by the different Roman people are less well known. Various discoveries give as a picture of the different classes and types who lived at the time.

For starters, Rome had impressive sanitation systems compared to other civilizations, but this did little more than help people smell better. In other words, based on 2,000-year-old fecal matter found at several historical sights, it was determined that parasites were even worse in those alive in the Roman period compared to earlier, supposedly less sanitary, periods of history like the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. Even though most Romans had access to clean food and drink, it was their bath water which was at fault for parasitic infestations: The water was kept lukewarm and rarely changed, which would have been a perfect breeding ground for parasites of all kinds. This, along with human faeces used as fertilizer, would have led to massive breakouts.

Secondly, while Ancient Rome is pictured as an era of extreme gluttony of all sorts, the massive feasts of exotic delicacies were, unfortunately, only for the upper class. Consequently, the remaining populations of Rome would have eaten a diet consisting of foods like millet: a cheap grain that was looked down upon as fit only for livestock, which means most Romans literally ate like animals. Despite living near the seas, lower-class Romans would have eaten very little fish but would have depended on wheat and the aforementioned millet. This could have led to a variety of issues, including anaemia and poor dental hygiene. As a result, most city dwellers ate well, but the farther outward a Roman dwelled, the worse their diet became.

Thirdly, energy drinks are very common among modern athletes because of their alleged performance-enhancing abilities. These drinks are also common among other in the world of physical fitness, but this is not a modern phenomenon. In a like manner, Gladiator energy drinks existed centuries before the first Gatorade. The drinks were said to have consisted of plant ash, a rich source of calcium that is known to help improve bone growth. In fact, heightened calcium levels are common in excavated gladiators, so this idea is not too farfetched. What would the drink have tasted like? Considering it was nothing but ash and water, it would have been incredibly bitter, but adding vinegar would have given it a much more pleasant taste.

Lastly, by testing ice cores in Greenland, climatologists are capable of measuring the amount of methane in the atmosphere going back centuries. For example, methane was at natural levels until 100 BC, when it shot up and remained sky high until AD 1600. This hike in methane coincides with the rise of the Roman Empire, and when the empire was at its zenith, so were its methane emissions. During this period, methane emissions worldwide measured at around 31 million tons per year, just 5 million short of the current emissions of the whole of the United States. To feed an empire, massive amounts of livestock like cattle, sheep, and goats were needed. This, along with growing populations in the Roman Empire in the West and the Chinese empire and the East, contributed to pollution during the time.

Transition words: Interesting facts about Running

It’s no secret that I'm a big fan of running marathons. Running burns calories, builds muscle, busts stress, and boosts your heart health. Plus, it’s super convenient—just grab a pair of sneakers and go! Whether you’re a beginner runner or a have been training for decades, there may still be some things you don’t know about running. Here are a couple running facts you need to know.

First of all, Stretching before running may lower your endurance. For one thing, many of us have been taught to warm up before exercise, however recent studies suggest that stretching before a run may not be beneficial to your workout. To illustrate, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that stretching before going for a run made a runner’s body less efficient so that they did not perform as well and were unable to run as far. Being that, instead of stretching, try warming up with a walk and running-specific moves to mobilize your joints before your run. So, make sure to include stretches as part of your post-run routine.

Furthermore, running a marathon could make you better at your job. For instance, going for a run is a good way to spend some of your free time. In a like manner, regular running could also help to enhance your working hours. For example, the fact that exercise requires planning, application, dedication and discipline means that it can help to improve your character development as well as your health. In fact, a study of people training for a New York marathon found that regular exercise improves people’s goal-setting, organization and discipline – both at work and in other areas of life.

Besides that, wearing cheap running shoes could cut your risk of injury. To begin with, while it can be fun to splash out on a new piece of kit, research studies have suggested that, when it comes to your running shoes, opting for low cost items could be good for your health. In other words, a study analysed more than a thousand runners and found that runners whose shoes cost more than $95 were more than twice as likely to get injured as those whose shoes that cost less than $40. Ironically, later studies have revealed similar results showing that runners who wore expensive shoes with additional features such as extra cushioning to prevent injuries were significantly more likely to get injured.

Finally, a run will help in maintaining a balanced amount of carbohydrates and sugar in the blood. In that case, running can prevent terrible diseases like diabetes from developing. Moreover, a good run burns the surplus amounts of sugar present in the blood, keeping the blood clean and better able to help you lead a healthy life. In all honesty, this was the only reason I convinced my father, who has diabetes, to follow me on my weekend jogs. After a few months, he seems to be in the best shape of his life. As long as he’s happy I’m happy.

Sports day 2016

My school recently had their sports day yesterday and those who achieved between first and third got their medals in the hall today. After watching the participants obtaining their spoils, I felt a fiery ember burn inside my chest. It was the feeling of regret. During the start of this year, I wanted to continue my post as a marcher in the marching competition for my team on sports day. Even though my strengths were in running, I still chose to accompany my marching buddies for another year. However, a little later in the midyear, sports day was cancelled due to some issues. All events were cancelled except the running category. Now that I realize my true potential, I will definitely consider participating in the next sports day as a runner. I also intend to participate because it will be my last year in my secondary school and I would like to end it with doing what I am best at. Hopefully my dreams of achieving a gold medal will come true. Maybe then will I finally realize that my true calling was right in front of me my whole life.

Colours (factual)

Colours are everywhere. Colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, etc. Everything has a colour to represent. In fact, colour theories create a logical structure for colour. For example, if we have an assortment of fruits and vegetables, we can organize them by colour and place them on a circle that shows the colours in relation to each other. A colour circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Colour pretty much existed ever since the whole universe began and plays a part in everyone’s daily life.

According to various international studies, the world’s most popular colour is blue. Based on the survey conducted by several global marketing firms, they’ve concluded that people worldwide picked blue as their favourite colour followed by purple. Though, some researchers also suggest that red and green are a close second and third respectively. White, orange, and yellow are some of the least favourite colours. Other than that, recent studies have shown that infants as young as 2 weeks of age can already distinguish the colour red. Probably because red has the longest wavelength among colours making it the easiest colour to process by the developing receptors and nerves in the baby’s eyes.

Another eye-opening fact is that men and women may see the world differently in terms of colours. For example, woman may see crimson, burgundy, and tomato red while men just see the colour red. Neuroscientists have discovered that women are better at distinguishing among subtle distinctions in colour, while men appear more sensitive to objects moving across their field of vision. Scientists have long maintained that the sexes see colours differently. But much of the evidence has been indirect, such as the linguistic research showing that women possess a larger vocabulary than men for describing colours. Experimental evidence for the vision thing has been rare.

Colours have also been known to affect our taste receptors when eating or drinking from coloured utensils. Recent discovery shows that colours affect the way we taste foods. For instance, an orange or cream-colored cup definitely makes chocolate taste better than in any other cup with a different colour. However, in some situations, a cross over from one pathway to the other occurs. Seeing the colour yellow-green may evoke taste sensations of sourness; pink may evoke sweetness. Seeing the colour grey may evoke olfactory sensations of smokiness. To give the impression of a certain taste, flavour, or quality, food colouring or dyes are added to processed, packaged, and even fresh foods. Adding a red colorant to the skin of an apple, for example, may influence consumers into believing the apple is sweeter in taste.

Lastly, a perplexing questions still remains, what came first, the orange fruit or the orange colour? Just like the eternal question between the egg and the chicken, the orange shares the same mystery. But according to studies, the word “orange” appears in the English language as early as the 13th century referring to the fruit. The colour orange was initially called Geoluhread which means yellow-red. The word's use as a colour name doesn't crop up for another 200 years, in the early 1500s. On a related note, it is widely accepted that there is no single English word is a true rhyme for orange.

In conclusion, colours can play different effects, like yellow makes people happy, red makes them angry, blue calms, and so on. Of course there are exceptions and not every person feels the same and gets the same effects from colours. The psychological effects of colour are apparent in everyday life. However, it is important to note that certain colours should not be overused simply for their calming or exciting effects. Colours from a cognitive perspective explain many of life's occurrences and can further help researches explore the processes of learning, decision making, reasoning, judgment, and many other mind processes.

Cake

It was a hot and sunny afternoon at a whopping thirty-four degrees Celsius. I walked into the kitchen to get some refreshments from the fridge but there was nothing cold enough. I checked the freezer and to my surprise there was cake but not just any cake, it was Ice Cream cake that my cousins had made for my grandmother for Mother's day. The obvious problem was that it was given quite long ago. I had forgotten all about it and told no one about too. The cake was probably without a doubt expired and rotten within the first week it was in the freezer. However, the slices of cake looked as good as they were a couple months ago so I decided to grab a fork and dig into it. It definitely cooled me but it was quite tasteless. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a 3 and a half; because it was cold. After one slice, I stopped because it was the best decision to not continue eating expired cake. I placed the cake back into the freezer and went to do what I usually do during afternoons. Luckily, I did not get any stomach aches or food poisoning.

Playstation

The first video game I've ever played in my life was on my cousin's 'Playstation' about 9 years ago. The game was called 'Kamen Rider' which was based on the television series. I was instantly hooked on the game and wanted to play it all day long. A year later, my brother was given a PS2 on his birthday. It was extremely popular at time and the games were cheap too. Almost every month my father would take us to the game shop to purchase a game. The first game we decided to get was 'Tekken 5' which was a fighting game with multiple modes to play on. Games like 'Metal slug', 'Sonic the Hedgehog', and 'Street Fighter' were a couple of my favorite games that exposed me to the world of video games. All the other games we bought we place them right next to our television so that we can play them during the holidays. PS2 was my childhood and I'm glad I spent it on those games.